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THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2018
Willowbrook concert choir to perform piece written for the late Mark Johnson
Kids join fight to save Lufkin Pool
Composition honoring former Board member to premiere at upcoming concert
In recognition of Johnson’s commitment to Willowbrook and District 88, the choir will sing “I thank You God for most this amazing,” during the Illinois Music Education Conference at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2018, at Scottish Rite Cathedral in Peoria. The group was selected for this performance following an audition. Johnson always promoted arts community “Mark was always an advocate for the arts and went out of his way to support the students in District 88, so when the Concert Choir achieved the high honor of performing during the conference, my first thought was this would be a perfect event to honor his life,” said Karyn Wolcott, Choir Director and Music Department Chair. “I had the privilege of teaching three of Mark’s daughters and first knew of him as a very involved father and a pillar in the community. He and his wife, Phyllis, were very active in the Music Booster Club. Long after their children graduated, they were at more concerts than I can count. They also were out at the football games and parades supporting our marching bands, on Saturdays at the Illinois High School Association Solo and Ensemble Contest and in
Pictured are a group of kids who are making signs and posters to distribute around the Village of Villa Park to protest the Village Council’s decision to close Lufkin Pool rather than spend any money repairing or renovating it. SUBMITTED PHOTO Villa Park Independent
See JOHNSON, Page 5
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Police Reports...........6 Sports ����������������������7 Legals................14-15 Classifieds..........16-17
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On Jan. 27, the Willowbrook Concert Choir will premiere a piece created in memory and honor of former District 88 Board of Education member Mark Johnson, who passed away in December 2014 after a battle with cancer. Willowbrook commissioned William V. Malpede to compose the piece. Johnson joined the Board of Education in 1999, served as president from 2003 to 2011 and remained on the Board until he passed away. But his connection to District 88 began years earlier – Johnson was an alumnus of Willowbrook and received the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012, and his four children graduated from Willowbrook as well. He represented District 88 on the Legislative Education Network of DuPage County (LEND) and the SASED Board of Control; was a member of the School District 45 Foundation, the Kiwanis Club of Villa Park and the Tri-Town YMCA; and served as a Worship Music and Arts Commissioner for St. Paul Lutheran Church in Villa Park. Before joining the District 88 Board, Johnson became engrained in education through fulfilling the role of a D.A.R.E. Police Officer with the Villa Park Police Department for nearly 10 years and later was named as Chief of Support Services.
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